Ebonyi PDP raises alarm over insecurity, bloodbath, arms stockpiling

…Begs international community to intervene

By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Ebonyi state chapter, has raised the alarm over stockpiling of arms, general insecurity, deliberate preparation for bloodbath and use of state resources for partisan activities.
The Ebonyi state of the PDP raised the alarm at the weekend at an emergency press briefing in Abuja.
The Publicity Secretary of the PDP in the state, Barr. Silas Joseph Onu, explained that the primary aim of the briefing was to put the nation and the entire world on notice in respect to the rising level of politically motivated violence and killings in Ebonyi State.
The Ebonyi PDP noted that the development has now been exacerbated since Governor David Umahi decamped from the PDP to All Progressives Congress (APC) few weeks ago.
According to Barrister Onu, “For the sake of clarity, we do not harbor any ill-feelings concerning the decision of the Governor to leave the PDP, especially as the decision was solely for personal reasons.
“However, the feeling is not mutual as our members have been subjected to acts of intimidation, violent attacks and direct threat to lives (even as people get killed daily under the guise of cult clash) from persons under the direct leadership of the Governor. Ebonyi State has become the most dangerous State to disagree with a Governor as the consequences are dire,” the party said.
Speaking about the insecurity and deliberate preparation for bloodbath in the state, the party said, “we are aware of the plans to make this holiday season the bloodiest in Ebonyi State, for those who are perceived as ‘enemies’ of the Governor due to political differences.
“Since the decamping of the Governor to the APC, his rhetoric has only persistently been geared towards activating his support base for violence against key leaders of the PDP, especially those from his immediate constituency, like me, who hail from the same community with the Governor.
“The former Secretary to the government of the Federation, Chief Anyim Pius Anyim, GCON, is not exempted from this planned reign of violence, verbal and physical. Same applies to the serving members of the National and State Assemblies from Ebonyi South.
“This is not to say that those from the northern or central zones are spared from this planned violence and criminal set-ups, but the importance of hitting hard at home cannot be over-emphasized.
“Many of us have received threats either directly or through proxies, indicating that a scenario of violence will be staged with the main intention of harming us.
“Personally, I have gotten some sort of intimidating utterances that call for concern and we are calling on all the security agencies to be vigilant in the state and deal with any act of violence as state sponsored, because it is.